Sunday's Action: A Sunday Night Pitching Duel

Dan Haren - 5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (10). You know it's your year when you turn in a performance like this and still win. Haren's worst start in quite some time, but yet he got tons of run support and picked up his 10th win of the first half.

Andy Pettitte - 1 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. Yuck. His ERA was due for bump, and unfortunately he picked one start to blow it up there. Hopefully he's not hurting.

Jack Cust - 3/5, 1 R, 4 RBI, HR (14). That's 5 HR in 9 games as Cust is on another power binge and he has to be used until he cools off again. His AVG is back up to .288.

Dontrelle Willis - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Thanks to a rain delay, Willis' quality start was cut short. No worries in case you checked the boxscore and wondered why he only pitched 4 innings.

Kevin Gregg - 2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, BS (1). His control was all over the place and he blew his first save of the year. Had Benitez not gotten rocked in the 8th, Gregg wouldn't have been needed in that inning along with the 9th. This won't affect his role as the closer, especially since Benitez caused the problem in the first place.

Bob Wickman - 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BS (4). Two rough outings in a row, and given his advanced age and earlier back problems, one might wonder if he's hurting again. Hopefully that's not the case, but if you have an extra roster spot and Rafael Soriano is available, you might want to pick him up for a few days to see if Wickman is alright.

Andruw Jones - 1/5, solo HR (13). Another one of fantasy baseball's biggest busts. He's never been a big AVG hitter, but his current .199 mark is killing his owners. He's just too good to keep this up, so I'd suggest buying low as odds are very high that he'll rebound in some fashion in the 2nd half.

James Shields - 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. Another great start from Shields as he bounced back from 3 ugly outings against a strong Cleveland offense, but unfortunate his effort wasn't good enough to pick up a win. He's safe to use again in case you benched him.

Carlos Pena - 1/4, solo HR (18). Here comes that cold streak as he's dropped his AVG 29 points over the past 10 games as it comes back down to a normal level. Your sell high window is passing you buy if you haven't tried to move him for a more established player in return. That .200 AVG against LHP just won't cut it, so the smart owners will keep platooning him.

Mike Maroth - 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. I still think he has a chance for success in the NL, but mixed leaguers who have picked him up should keep him benched for a bit.

Homer Bailey - 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 2 K. Horrible. He's just not polished enough to sustain success at the major league level yet. I wouldn't use him in redraft leagues until he puts together a few starts in a row, if he can manage that. I don't have the same confidence factor that he'll bounce back like Lincecum has. He's going to be very good, but that time isn't now.

Ken Griffey Jr. - 2/4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (22). His renaissance season continues with a .292 AVG, 22 HR, and 53 RBI. He's providing amazing return on investment, and it seems like his move to RF has contributed to him staying healthy.

John Lackey - 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (11). Another fine start from Lackey as he picked up win #11 on the season. He's given you fantasy ace value from a middle round draft choice. He's not as flashy as some of the other aces, but he gets it done just like they do.

Jeremy Guthrie - 8 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Another quality statline from Guthrie, but a couple HR did him in for those earned runs.

Carlos Delgado - 2/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (13). He's been scuffling, so the last 4 games give his owners some hope that he'll bust out of his 2nd slump of the year. He has a good chance of getting hot for a while.

Shane Victorino - 3/4, solo HR (9), 2 SB (24). He's only hitting .271, so like I said before, he's only a 2 catagory player with 51 R and 24 SB. The 9 HR is more than more steal guys give you, so he's a bit more valuable in that sense than many "emptier" speed guys.

Akinori Otsuka - 2/3 IP, 2 H. Otsuka left with a forearm problem, so let's hope this isn't a serious ailment. Nothing more has been reported at this time.

Kevin Youkilis - 2/4, 1 RBI. He's slowed down from that monster pace he was on earlier, but with a .329 AVG, 44 RBI, and 48 R, he's providing his owners with a quality fantasy 3B.

Hunter Pence - 4/5, 3 R, 1 RBI. That 5 game mini-slump apparently pissed him off.

Jon Garland - 7 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6). His 3.15 ERA is very impressive as he might become the White Sox ace if Buehrle is traded.

David Bush - 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Not too bad of a start, but the offense had nothing on Marquis last night after exploding for 19 runs the first 2 games of the series.

Corey Hart - 1/4, solo HR (11). Combining him along with Fielder, Hardy, Weeks, and fellow super-rookie Braun, and this young offense is looking very scary for the next several years. The Milwaukee crowd has to be loving this.

Tim Linecum - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K. He only needed 97 pitches to accomplish this, his best outing as a major leaguer. Getting Bengie Molina back behind the plate has definitely put Lincecum back on track.

Bengie Molina - 2/4, 3 run HR (8). With a .289 AVG, 8 HR, and 44 RBI, Molina's putting together a very solid season for a fantasy catcher.

Shaun Marcum - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Another great start from Marcum as he's definitely worth using in mixed leagues during his hot streak.

Jeff Weaver - 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. What the hell is going on? I've read that he's found a few extra MPH on his fastball, so that's allowed him to go from batting practice dummy to decent major league starter, and he's actually putting together a nice little streak of starts. Still, he can't be picked up in mixed leagues.

J.J. Putz - 1 IP, 2 K, W (1). Nice little win bonus for his owners.

Chad Billingsley - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. What a nice start from Billingsley last night. He's back on the radar. He can provide a lot of performances like this if he could find consistent control of his pitches.

Justin Germano - 6 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Roughed up a little bit last night. He's still a good sell high guy if you can toss him into a deal for an upgrade before his numbers start to even out.

Rafael Furcal - 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (2), SB (9). He's been a massive disappointment for those owners expecting the ~12 HR and ~40 steals that he usually provides. The problem is the extreme lack of patience behind him in Juan Pierre, who just doesn't take pitches and allow Furcal to steal. It seems like it might be a problem all year long.

Scott Baker - 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. What a great performance from Baker last night against a red hot Detroit Tigers offense, needing only 79 pitches. That's 3 straight solid starts from Baker who is possibly understanding how to pitch at the major league level. One more good start against a quality offense and I'll be recommending a pickup.

Jeremy Bonderman - 8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (9). Just shut down the Twins offense, and got the run of support he needed in the bottom of the 8th to pick up the victory.